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Bellona Reborn Part 4
Bellona Reborn Part 4 Ch 4: The Darkest Hour Reyna and I wait in the brig, the water lapping on the side of the ship. I run my fingers over the dagger blade. A faint brown stain runs along the sharp blade. I cringe. Blood ? Maybe Circe's ? I shudder and try to push the upleasant thought out of my mind. This dagger belonged to Orlick. He killed Circe with it. Reyna Killed Orlick. Now this dagger is mine, and I sincerely hope I will not have to do any killing with it. Our time to strike was at hand. The Darkest Hour had come, and I had to be Bellona Reborn, or die in the attempt. ************************** Reyna crept over to the door. "Please sir" she said to the pirate guard outside. "May I have a glass of water?" We heard the pirate shuffling outside. He grunted, and his feet were heard clomping down the corridor. We sat there, hardly daring to breathe. SNAP My vision blurred, and zoomed into perspective. Tingles ran down my spine. I could see every hair on Reyna's head. Battle Ecstasy. But not the uncontrolled madness like before. Now I only felt deadliness, lethalness, and awareness. Reyna sat beside me, perfectly still as she watched me. The pirate came in. I struck. My thudding heartbeat was perfectly in sync with my movements, I was a hunter, he was my prey. I grabbed his feet, twirling him around with ease. Before he had time to holler, I banged his head against the floor and he fell still. Reyna stood gaping. My fingers dancing into the pirate's coat pocket, I lifted out a pistol and a small knife. I tossed the knife to Reyna without speaking and put the pistol in my own pocket. I knew I would need it later. I walked out of the room, Reyna behind me, not making a sound lest she break the spell. ******************************** I walked down the corridor full of purpose. Reyna followed behind. I could see every flaw in the wood underneath my feet. I heard a rat scurry over the floorboards. Reyna whispered: "What now?" "To the skiff on deck." I growled. She walked ahead of me up the stairs to the deck, and straight into the back of a pirate. ******************** "Escape!" he hollered. "They're escaping!" He yanked the rope of a small bell on the deck. CLANG CLANG! Every pirate would be jumping from their beds. "Split up." I told Reyna. She ran. I was still in battle ecstasy. The pirate drew out a long rapier from his belt and swiped at me. I dodged easily and grabbed his sword hilt, jamming it against his forehead. He crumbled. I took the sword and threw it over the railing into the sea. Then I ran. Other pirates were emerging from below deck. Three headed toward Reyna and two toward me. One took a pistol out of his belt and fired. I dodged the bullet easily. I grabbed the pistol pirate and cracked his head aginist the railing, and drove my new dagger deep in the arm of the second. He crumbled. I wiped blood off the dagger and grinned. Battle ! War ! Enemies ! The old Bellona spirit awoke within me as I charged toward the next pirate. He swiped at me with his sword in one hand, firing rounds of musket balls with his pistol. I dipped, side stepped, and swayed, my feet dancing on the wooden boards beneath my feet. In a move that made me laugh with delight, I side stepped, lunged forward, and slammed the pirate's head into the deck. I stepped on top of the deck and raised my blood stained dagger to the silver moon. My reverie of triumph was interrupted by a sharp scream. And a thump. Reyna. My soul filled with vengeance and I raced across the deck.The two grappled on the deck, chests heaving. The proud moon shone light on the spectacle. Reyna was lying on the deck, breathing hard, her knife ten feet away on the deck, one cold, naked, sword at her throat. The pirate captain, Ugly Face, crouched by her, and a cruel smile played across his hideous features. "One moment too late, eh, girl ?" he growled. "You know you killed Orlick,eh ?" A long pause. Reyna's terrified breathing broke the silence. The pirate continued: "No? You don't know ? Well you did, he drowned and he left my crew one man short !" He tightened his grip on the sword. Reyna shuddered as the cold metal brushed her skin. I grabbed the dagger and got ready to charge, then stopped. Why was I doing this ? By the light of the fingernail moon, I saw the dagger. The ruby eyes of the horse glittered. Under the stars, my battle ecstasy in danger of slipping away, I saw myself in the dagger blade's metal. I was no longer a hapless girl. I was Bellona reborn, and had made that decision when I vowed to leave the ship, to protect Reyna, as Tethys and my grandmother had told me. Reyna closed her eyes. The pirate pressed the blade into her skin. A thin line of blood appeared on her neck. I raised the dagger and threw. It sailed through the air, a metal bird flying into the darkness. A deadly, lethal, thing of beauty. The pirate raised his sword to slit Reyna's throat. He never made it. My dagger went through his tunic . The blade jutted through his collarbone. He grasped his chest and moaned-a sound of such pain and emotion that even the stars above wavered with pity and pain. Grasping his chest, he fell facedown on the deck and was still, his blood pooling beneath him. Reyna pulled herself up and rubbed her throat, looking around for her savior. I walked into her line of sight. Running over to the pirate captain, I wrenched my dagger from between his shoulder blades and pulled it out, the dark blood running over my fingers. SNAP The world swirled as the battle Ecstasy faded away. The dagger fell from my hand with a clatter as I choked down a cry "What did I just do?" I moaned. I watched as Reyna solemnly knelt down and wiped the dagger blade. She held it up in the moonlight. "I will keep this forever Hylla, and I will always remember how brave you were for me." She tucked the dagger into her belt. "Come" she said, reaching out an arm. I took it and she led me to the little skiff. We set off from there. The ocean was dark and quiet. I lay in them little boat, listening to the sounds of Reyna pulling the oars. Then I wasn't alone any more. A tall woman stood beside me. She was wearing a creme colored leather suit, and had a belt full of glittering knives at her waist. Her prefect brown hair was done up in a bun on her head. Mother. Bellona reached out and stroked my hair. "Hylla" she whispered. "You have proved your worth as a true Roman, and as my daughter. She removed a black stoned ring from her finger and put it on my open palm. Before I could react, she was gone, soaring up into the night. I had proved my worth as a true Roman. I was Bellona Reborn. I closed my eyes to sound of the waves lapping against the little boat. The End Category:Prophecy